Parasite Eve II
Parasite Eve II is the sequel to the video game Parasite Eve. Parasite Eve II is set three years after the events in the original game. In her new adventure, Aya Brea is pulled into a new battle in the American southwest against the NMC creatures she battled in the Manhattan Incident. Gameplay diverges from the previous game as battles now occur in real time and in open areas. The gameplay is typical of the survival-horror genre, although RPG elements of XP, MP, spells, armor, and leveling are present. The game was well-received and achieved high reviewer scores, although the controls were criticized for being outdated and clumsy. Plot Three years after the Manhattan incident, Aya Brea is an FBI agent working in the Mitochondrion Investigation and Suppression Team (MIST) and has been dispatched on an urgent mission in Los Angeles after reports of NMC activity. Aya is in charge of investigating the Akropolis Tower where she finds a slaughtered SWAT team and an NMC infestation. During her investigation Aya discovers that the NMCs have taken human form before reverting to their normal state and slaughtering the patrons and S.W.A.T. members. After battling her way through the top levels of the tower, Aya encounters a mysterious creature; a humanoid Artificial Neo-Mitochondrial Creature (ANMC) called No. 9 GOLEM. After battling the new creature, No. 9 triggers a series of bombs, destroying the Akropolis Tower. However, Aya along with her colleague Rupert Broderick, who has been at the scene before she arrives, escape in a police helicopter. After returning to M.I.S.T.'s headquarters in L.A, Aya is tasked by her boss, Eric Baldwin, with investigating strange incidents occurring in the desert town of Dryfield in the American southwest. The town consists of a truck-stop on a seldom used highway, with a motel, garage and diner. Upon arriving, she finds that Dryfield too is infested with NMCs. She later encounters a survivor, Gary Douglas, and his dog Flint, who acts as her source of news and equipment for much of the game. She later rescues Kyle Madigan, a private investigator who claims to be on a case that involves investigating the "Shelter", a nearby underground facility that may hold the answers to the recent outbreak of NMCs. During her investigation in Dryfield, Aya discovers where the entrance to the Shelter is located. Before leaving Dryfield for the shelter, Aya fights and kills a large ANMC. Following the battle, Aya finds gas for an old truck that Gary Douglas has fixed and heads to the Shelter entrance with Kyle. Once at the Abandoned Mine, Aya and Kyle successfully fight off a group of Desert Chasers outside the mine's entrance. During the heated battle Kyle is injured and stumbles into the mine as Aya finishes off the last of the ANMCs. Entering the mine, Aya is unable to locate Kyle and assumes he is dead after finding his pistol inside the mine where she defeated a large, powerful enemy. Finding a hidden door inside the mine, Aya finally gains access to the Shelter. As Aya explores the Shelter she discovers that the ANMCs are the result of genetic engineering in an attempt to artificially create superior life forms, and that in some way she is closely involved. The game's storyline unfolds through various animated cut scenes that appear at regular intervals when plot points are triggered; one of these reveals that the ANMCs were created from her own DNA. Eventually Aya discovers the game's fourth and final area, the Neo Ark, the entrance to which is concealed in the shelter. She finds out that the Ark facility was intended to be a showcase of ANMC technology, divided into different habitats, with zoo-like visitor commentaries and viewing platforms throughout the area. Habitat containment has broken down and the ANMCs are loose. This area is now infested with the creatures too. The goal in this area is for Aya to disable the power generator, which allows access to an area that could not be reached in the shelter. Returning to the shelter, and reunited with Kyle. Aya rescues a girl that has been manipulated into controlling the hostile NMCs. She also learns that the girl, Eve, was created from her own DNA, making her Aya's twin clone. Shortly after escaping an attack by unknown hostile forces, Eve is kidnapped by No. 9. Returning from the Neo Ark to the Shelter, Aya finds a path leading out of the Shelter to the outside world. Emerging from the Shelter, Aya encounters a large force of GOLEMs, but is rescued by a battalion of U.S. Marines, that have been activated by Aya's contacts at MIST. She later receives a gift from Mr. Douglas, via Flint, of supplies. She decides to use Flint to help her find Eve, using Eve's teddy bear in order to give him a scent to track. He leads her back into the Shelter, tracking Eve's scent, but is sent back to the surface in order to lead a blinded Marine to safety. Aya tracks Eve down to a room containing an enormous cocoon, where No. 9 is attempting to meld Eve with the creature; Kyle at No. 9's side, complicit in his actions. Kyle suddenly turns on No. 9, wounding him with a gunshot before the cocoon creature devours him. Moments later a satellite weapon is fired with authority by the President; decimating Dryfield. Aya and Kyle find themselves separated by a hole that has penetrated all the Shelter's levels. She looks down to see Eve hanging onto a piece of debris on the edge of one of the lower levels. Eventually, the cocoon breaks open, having being dislodged by the impact of the weapon, revealing the largest ANMC in the game. After defeating this creature, mutated Eve emerges from the lake of mitochondria and biomatter below as a fast and powerful winged NMC resembling a large butterfly. With her last enemy in sight, Aya battles for one last time. After the final battle, various cutscenes are shown depending on the actions of the player during the game. Endings * True/Good ending: Once the bosses are defeated, Aya and Eve awaken surrounded by medics. Aya has a monologue about what happened to the characters. Aya and Eve visit the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, remembering the outbreak of mitochondria. Kyle meets up with them. To obtain it: :*Save Flint in Dryfield. :*Open the Full Moon Gate and return to Dryfield from the shelter. Follow Flint to the Water Tower and save Pierce. :*Read Pierce's memo in the Pod Service Gantry. Immediately call Jodie. :*Get the Teddy Bear by No. 9's motorcycle. :*Get the note from Flint, and give him the Teddy Bear. :*Rescue Pierce in Golem Freezer. :*Save the blinded soldier in the shelter. * Normal ending: Similar to the Good Ending, but don't call Jodie after reading the memo, or rescue Pierce from the Golem Freezer. Once the bosses are defeated, Aya and Eve awaken surrounded by medics. The game ends on a cliffhanger. * Sad/Bad ending: Once the bosses are defeated, Aya and Eve fall down a pod. Aya and Eve awaken surrounded by medics. As Aya is falling, she looks at Kyle to tell him something, but can't because she passes out. Gameplay Parasite Eve II shifts from its cinematic RPG roots to the survival horror genre, while attempting to insert RPG elements into the mix. The RPG elements present are the use of Experience to gain Levels, HP (Hit Points, or health), MP (Mitochondria Points, used to power Aya's Parasite Energy abilities) and PE (Parasite Energy, the games equivalent of spells). Character controls have been changed to tank style controls, allowing fighting to be done in real space versus the limited battle area present in the original game. These controls eschew the turn based fighting present in the original, giving the player a more dynamic and free fighting system. Camera movement is not controlled by the player, being replaced with sudden shifts in the pre-rendered backgrounds as opposed to the pan and zoom present in the original. Unlike Parasite Eve, there is no Active Time Bar that governs the order of actions during a battle. Battles take place in real time, so the player is free to act as they see fit. Another contrast is the absence of the 'range dome' seen in the first game, allowing the player to shoot at off-screen targets and engage targets from a safe distance. There are also no random battles; enemies will be found wandering in plain view, hence allowing the player to avoid confrontations and plan strategies. Aiming, as with most other games of this genre, is accomplished by cycling through the various 'lockable' targets within Aya's range. Equipment can be obtained by purchasing it, prize from successful battles, or finding it in predetermined areas of the game. Players lose the ability to modify or create weapons and armor as was the case in the original. Unlike most other survival horror games, ammunition is almost never in short supply. While Aya can only carry limited amounts of equipment with her, inexhaustible ammunition boxes exist in most areas and can be revisited as often as required for a top-up. This encourages the player to fight rather than run, which is essential to the gameplay as it is the only way to gain experience and thus for Aya to become powerful enough to succeed. While equipment follows the original game's concept of being customizable, in general the weapons and armor are quite limited in the alterations available. For weapons, soem can be accessorized with various attachments; i.e. attaching a grenade launcher to the M4A1 giving the user a secondary fire mode. Armors vary in their defense and specials but can be augmented by adding special items, such as Holy Water into the attachment slots. These items are not lost or destroyed if the armor is sold and the armors cannot be modified by taking stats from another. The Parasite Energies are divided into four areas: the offensive Fire and Wind elements and the defensive Water and Earth elements. Of these, Fire is perhaps the most useful method of attacking due to its devastating power and good range. It is composed of the fireball Pyrokinesis, the wall of fire Combustion and the explosive Inferno. Wind comprises electrical attacks that have less power but higher tactical value because they are capable of immobilizing and poisoning enemies. These are the electric ball Necrosis, the electric pulse dome Plasma and the thunderstorm Apobiosis. Water involves healing energies; these are the status curing Metabolism, the HP restoring Healing and the offensively-used HP draining Lifedrain. Earth relates to physical energies, so is most useful for defense, but can also give Aya a decent attack. The energies are the magnetic armor Antibody, the bullet-power improving Energy Shot and the offensive/defensive balls Energy Balls. Once the game has been completed, bonus items become available for the player should they choose to redo the game in Replay mode. Other modes also become available, such as Bounty Hunter and Scavenger which are more difficult for the player to complete. The most difficult mode "Nightmare" only becomes available after completing the game in Scavenger Mode. Music Parasite Eve II Original Soundtrack is the soundtrack album of video game music for Parasite Eve II. The music was composed by Naoshi Mizuta. External links * PlayStation Store * FMVs - Part 1 * FMVs - Part 2 Category:Games Category:Parasite Eve II